A "GAPING HOLE" IN THE LAW MEANT A CONVICTED PAEDOPHILE COULD LEAD ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN WHERE HE USED THE ACCESS TO ABUSE THEM.
On Thursday, May 30th, Nicholas Moxham, a man residing on Briarfield Road in Heaton Chapel, Cheshire, was officially convicted of a series of heinous and deeply disturbing crimes against women.The lengthy legal proceedings, which spanned over five weeks at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court, culminated in a verdict that found Moxham guilty of multiple serious offences, including rape, prostitution, sexual slavery, and sexual assault.
Many of these crimes were committed within the confines of his own home, where he had clandestinely installed secret cameras to monitor and record his victims, capturing his disturbing and predatory behaviour in covert footage.
Specifically, Moxham, born on March 5, 1972, faced charges that included controlling prostitution for financial gain on six separate occasions, requiring women to perform forced or compulsory labour three times, and committing six counts of rape.
Additional charges included attempted rape, three counts of assault by penetration, and thirteen counts of voyeurism.
The evidence presented during the trial painted a chilling picture of a man who meticulously planned and executed his predatory acts, often using advanced surveillance equipment to facilitate his abuse.
The police first became aware of Moxham’s activities in June and July of 2020, after witnesses reported seeing a man known as 'Nick' in the company of sex workers and frequently loitering near homeless shelters in the Cheshire area.
Over time, Moxham recruited six women to work as sex workers, arranging for clients to visit his residence and another address located in Longsight, Manchester.
Many of these encounters were secretly filmed using specialized equipment, including hidden cameras concealed within pens, allowing him to record his victims without their knowledge.
Several of these recordings depicted Moxham raping or sexually assaulting women, sometimes while they were unconscious, highlighting the brutality and calculated nature of his crimes.
On August 17, 2021, law enforcement officers executed a warrant at Moxham’s home.
During the raid, they discovered a woman described as 'pale and malnourished' lying under a duvet on his living room floor.
Immediate safeguarding measures were enacted to protect her, and the investigation expanded to identify additional victims.
During the search, officers recovered multiple computer hard drives, storage devices, and spyhole cameras.
Moxham attempted to destroy evidence by discarding a hard drive out of his bedroom window as police entered the premises, but authorities managed to seize crucial digital evidence that linked him to his crimes.
Detective Sergeant Lee Attenborough of Stockport CID expressed his horror at the case, describing it as one of the most disturbing and upsetting he and his team have encountered.
He emphasized that Moxham was a controlling and predatory sex offender who believed himself to be above the law, denying his crimes until the very end.
The detective highlighted the calculated and covert methods Moxham employed to target his victims, some of whom may not even have been aware they were victims due to the secretive nature of his surveillance.
Sergeant Attenborough praised the bravery of the victims who came forward to testify, acknowledging the difficulty and trauma involved in reporting such crimes.
He assured the public that thanks to their courage, Moxham would now face a significant prison sentence.
The officer also urged anyone who has experienced violence or controlling behaviour to seek help, emphasizing that the police have specialized officers ready to assist.
The overarching goal remains to make Manchester and surrounding areas safer for everyone by ensuring that offenders like Moxham are held accountable and removed from the community.
UPDATE 04/08/2025 Nicholas Moxham ran parties in Manchester but did not need to have to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, external, a common test for people working with young people which would have revealed his previous conviction, because he was self-employed.
Moxham, who was detained for four years in 1992 after wounding a woman and received a caution in 1997 for indecent exposure, was jailed for at least 19 years after being convicted of a series of sex offences against women and children in 2024, some of which took place at the parties.
Campaigning charity Freedom from Abuse said the law should be changed to ensure "anyone" working with children underwent DBS checks.
Moxham ran party experiences involving laser tag, zorbing, go-karting and science demonstrations through companies he owned in buildings, outdoor areas and woodland he had hired from Parrs Wood High School.
Police discovered that in 2016 he had lured three children who were playing laser tag to a hidden area of the woodland being filmed by a camera he had hidden in leaves and exposed himself and acted indecently while their backs were turned.
Officers also found that between 2018 and 2019, he hid a motion-activated camera in the toilets of an outbuilding that was used by both children and adults attending his events.
None of those filmed by Moxham have been identified by police.
He also kept devices containing indecent images of children and animals in a storage unit at the school.
Teachers and other employees who work with children and are unsupervised by senior staff must have an enhanced DBS, which looks for criminal records and ensures they have not been banned from working with children.
However, anyone employing themselves through their own company is not legally required to have a DBS certificate, though self-employed people can obtain checks by applying through agencies, professional organisations or specialist companies.
Some parents were usually present at Moxham's events, but regulations mean that only the presence of senior staff negates the need for an enhanced DBS certificate in such circumstances for anyone not working for their own company.
Sarah, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, booked Moxham for one of her son's birthday parties.
She said most parents "just assume that these people have been checked and that it is safe".
"I'd trusted him, it was at a school, it was a registered company, I'd done the research, I'd looked at the reviews," she said.
"What more can you do?" Freedom from Abuse's Marilyn Hawes said "anyone" working with children should need to undergo checks for previous convictions or cautions.
"It's a gaping hole that children are falling down and being harmed," Ms Hawes said.
Rebecca Miller from law firm Farleys said DBS checks were "there for employers" and in circumstances where self-employed people had been booked, it was "essentially left to the parents or guardians" to make sure that those providing the service had been "appropriately checked".
The Home Office said it would not comment on individual cases but is understood to be looking at extending the scope of enhanced criminal records checks to self-employed people who work closely with children and vulnerable adults.
